Air conditioner



June 1961 J. MILLER 2,987,984

AIR CONDITIONER Filed Oct. 30, 195"! 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 F f0 72 Q I' w" g55 155 9s I i w n a Q fl! 50 INVENTOR- z/zzszzzs 7771'Z/er HIS ATTORNEYJune 13, 1961 J. MILLER AIR CONDITIONER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 30,1957 v! .r N 6 R m. m E T gm w w v i U M Y B June 13, 1961 J. MILLER2,987,984

AIR CONDITIONER Filed Oct. 50, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

5? INVENTOR.

Jasz'as iii/1%) W1. BY 56 W9. 5

H l S ATTORNEY June 13, 1961 J. MILLER AIR CONDITIONER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed Oct. 50, 1957 n v N mp m N T E.) T WW A 1 m 5 H a J June 13, 1961J. MILLER 2,987,984

AIR CONDITIONER Filed Oct. 30, 195'? 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 HIS ATTORNEY2,987,984 AIR CONDITIONER Justus Miller, Xenia, Ohio, assignor toGeneral Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of DelawareFiled Oct. 30, 1957, Ser. No. 693,302 Claims. (CI. 98-94) with a heatingarrangement.

It is another object of this invention to provide an air conditioningunit which is easily manufactured and serviced in which the blowers andthe refrigerating system can be manufactured as separate assemblies andare easily removed as a unit and separated for servicing.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an airconditioning unit with an easily manufactured, inexpensive, dual camarrangement by which the fresh air and exhaust air doors may beselectively controlled by a single knob.

These and other objects are attained in the form shown .in the drawingsin which a horizontalrectangular sup port is slid-ably mounted withinchannels within an outer shell serving as the casing or enclosure. Therefrigerating system is mounted above the support while separate blowersare mounted below the support and connected as a unit to be removable asa unit from the support and the refrigerating system. A rotary memberwith two cam slots has a filler in each slot connected to one of thedoors controlling the freshand exhaust air. The cabinet has removablegrilles extending substantially across the entire front of the cabinetproviding a pleasing appearance and also providing access to therefrigerating unit for servicing and removal. The unit is provided withsubstantially identical forward and upward discharge openings. A grilleand a plate are provided with substantially identical externaldimensions so that one of the openings canbe closed and the dischargemade through the grille in the other opening. A heating accessory may beplaced over one of the openings and the grille is then placed in theoutlet of the heating accessory.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a. vertical sectional viewthrough the unit taken along theline 11 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional unit taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional unit taken along the line 33 ofFIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a front view;

FIGURE 5 is a view in elevation of the anism for the fresh and exhaustair doors;

FIGURE 6 is a front view of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a top view of a modified control mechanism for the fresh andexhaust air doors;

control mechv trol mechanism for the fresh and exhaust air doors; and

FIGURE 10 is a side view of the simpler control mechanism shown inFIGURE 9.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 4, there isshown an air conditioning unit provided with a cabinet 20 containing acontrol panel 22 provided with knobs 24, 26 and 28 for controlling thetemperature, the fresh and exhaust air doors and the operation of theunit, respectively. The knob 24 adjusts the operating temperature of theswitch controlling the operation of the unit as measured by thethermostat bulb 181 in the room air inlet. A removable grille 30 coversthe lower portion of the front while a removable upper grille 32 coversthe upper portion of the front, with the exception of the control panel22. The sides of the cabinet are provided with channels 34 within whichslides the horizontal rectangular support 36. This support 36 hasturned-up flanges so that it can collect and hold condensate moisture.Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 1-3, there is mounted on top ofthe support 36 a sealed motorcompressor unit 38 in one corner, as shownin FIG. 3, which delivers compressed refrigerant to the condenser 40located in another corner where the refrigerant is condensed and fromits lower portion is discharged through a capillary tube 42 to thebottom of the evaporator 44 mounted at an angle of about 65 or 70alongside the motor-compressor unit 38 in the adjacent corner. Theevaporated refrigerant is returned from the top of the evaporatorthrough the suction conduit 48 to the motoricompressor unit 38. Abox-shaped partition 50 separates the evaporator 48 and its chamber fromthe sealed unit '38 and the condenser 40.

Located beneath the support 36 are the condenser blower 52 and theevaporator blower 54 which have the discharge portions 56 and 58 oftheir housings extending upwardly through the openings 60 and 62 in thesupport 36. The blowers 52 and 54 may be conveniently driven by a singlemotor 53 located between them. The condenser blower 52 is enclosed in abox-shaped housing 62 having its top side open. The evaporator blower 54is also enclosed in the box-shaped housing 64 having a large frontopening 66. The blowers 52 and 54 and the housings 62 and 64 as well asthe motor 53 are connected together by bracing 63 to form a structuralunit or sub-assembly. The discharge portion 58 of the evaporator blowercasing 54 extends through a tightly fitting opening within andsubstantially sealed to the top wall oliilthe enclosure 64. This sealedfit is readily remova e.

The condenser blower 52 has the bottom of its casing extendingsubstantially to the bottom of the water pan 63. An opening (not shown)is provided in the lower part of the casing of the blower 52 to admitwater there in so that the moisture may be carried up by the air to .thecondenser 40 where it will assist in the cooling of the condenser. Thecondenser blower 52 draws air through the portion of the outdoor airgrille 70 nearest the sealed unit 38 into the cabinet and down throughthe large open-- ing 60 in the support 36 into the compartment 62 whereit is drawn into side inlets of the casing of the blower 52 anddischarged through the discharge portion 56 into the shroud 72connecting with the inner face of the condenser 40. The casing of theblower 52 is provided with a gasketted flange 74 making an airtightremovable fit with the adjacent end portion of the shroud 72.

The evaporator blower enclosure 64 is provided with a diagonally locatedfilter 76 in front of the opening 66 so that the air drawn through thegrille 30 and the opening 66 passessthrough the filter before enteringthe housing of the blower 54. The air is discharged through thedischarge portion 58 of the blower 54 beneath the evaporator 44 fromwhich the air may continue through the upper openings 80 and 82, or theplate 84 may be removed for forward discharge through the grille 32. Theevaporator 44 is provided with a water collecting pan 86 beneath ithaving an outlet 88 connected by a hose 90 to discharge into theinterior of the condenser blower 52 so that it may be carried onto thesurfaces of the condenser 40 by the circulating onto the surfaces of thecondenser grooved surface of the support 36 and discharge so as to becaught by the pan 68.

Extending up to the evaporator 44 in one corner of the partition 50 isan enclosure 92 (FIGURE 3) closed at the top and having a bottom opening96 disharging into the compartment 64. The partition 50 is provided witha fresh air door 94 providing for flow of air from the outside throughthe grille 70 and the compartment containing the compressor 38 into thecompartment 92 and through the opening 96 into the blower enclosure 64for adding fresh air to the room. This door 94 is operably connected toa Bowden wire 98 extending through a casing 121 to a lever 123 (FIGURESand 6). The lever 123 is pivoted at its lower end and carries a camfollower pin 125 riding in the spiral shaft cam slot 127 in the pressedmetal square-toothed gear 129.

The partition 50 is also provided with an exhaust air door 131 at therear of the evaporator 44 for discharging indoor and fresh air comingout of the blower 54 under suflicient pressure that some will escapethrough the door opening when the door 131 is open. This door 131 isoperatively connected to a Bowden wire 133 extending through a casing135 to a lever 137 pivotally mounted at its lower end to the bracket139. The lever 137 is'provided with a cam follower pin 141 operating inthe cam slot 143 in the pressed metal gear 129. The pressed metal .gear129 is rotatably mounted on the bolt 144 and is turned by the pinion 145mounted upon the'rotatable knob shaft 147 connected to the knob 26.

The bracket 139 rotatably supporting the shaft 147 serves as a supportfor the bolt 144 and the pivots 149 of the levers 123 and 127 as well asproviding the anchorages 151 for the casings 121 and 135. The cam slots143 and .127 are vso arranged that in one extreme position the wire 98is pulled to open the fresh air door 94. As the knob 26 is turned, thelever 123 and the wire 98 move toward the bolt 144 to close the door 94.As the knob 26 is turned further in the same direction the lever 137 andthe Bowden wire 133 are moved to gradually open the exhaust-air door131.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 another form of operator for the fresh air and exhaustdoors 94 and 131 is shown. In this form there is a supporting bracket220 having pins or rivets 222 extending through the slots 224 in theracks 226 and 228. The ends of the racks 226 and 228 are.

each connected, respectively, by a screw 230 to an eyelet upon each ofthe ends of the Bowden wires 98 and 133. The enclosing conduits 121 and135 for these wires 98 and 133 are clamped by the clamp 232 and thescrew 234 to the'supporting bracket 220. The bracket 220 is providedwith clearance slots 236 for the screws 230. The bracket 220 is providedwith a second pair of'pins or rivets 238 extending through the slots 240in the racks" .226 and 228. These slots 240 differ from the'slots 224in'that they are provided with an offset enlargement 242 appearing inFIG. 7 beneath the heads of the pins or rivets 238.

The racks 226 and 228 are limited in their. movement away from eachother by a yoke 244 extending transversely across and slidablyenveloping the reduced portion of the racks adjacent the rack teeth 246.The rack teeth 246'mesh with opposite sides of the pinion 248.Approximately one-half of the pinion 248 has an enlarged to receive theknob 26. The halls 252 are preferably held in six circumferentiallyspaced holes in the bracket 220 surrounding the shaft 254. The lower endof the shaft 254 is provided with a spring washer 258 which presses theballs 252 into a series of six circumferentially spaced notches in thelower'face "of'the pinion 248. This provides a resilient holdingarrangement for holding the shaft 254 in any one-of six positions sothat the doors 94 and 131 may be held in at least three ascertainablepositions.

In operation, the turning of the shaft 254 in a clockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 7 will cause the interrupted portion of the pinion 248 topush the left end of the rack 228 outwardly against the adjacent end ofthe yoke 244, which will pull the yoke 244 against the opposite edge ofthe rack 226 to move its rack teeth 246 into positive engagement withthe teeth of the pinion 248. Continued rotation of the shaft 254 and thepinion 248 will cause the pinion to move the rack 226 to the right, asshown in FIG. 7. This will move the Bowden wire 98 in such a directionas to close the door 94. The operating mechanism for the door 94 isreversed from that shown in FIG. 3 to accomplish this movement. Therotation of the pinion 248 continues until the door 94 is opened to theextent desired.

Operation of the shaft 254 and the pinion 248 in the oppositedirection'will pull the wire 98 so as to move the door 94 to the closedposition. Further rotation will cause the interrupted portion 250 of thepinion 248 to push the rack 226 outwardly to disengage the pinion 248from the teeth of the rack 226 when it is in its left position. Furtherrotation willmove rack 226 outwardly into engagement with the yoke 244,which will also move the rack 226 with its rack teeth 246 intoengagement with the teeth of the pinion 248. Further rotation of thepinion will move the rack 228 and the Bowden wire 133 to the right'toopen the exhaust air door 131. The enlarged end portions 242 of theslots 240 permit the lateral movement of the racks 226 and 228alternately into and out of engagement with the teeth of the pinion 248and also serve 'as notches to firmly hold the doors 94 and 131 in closedposition.

Another arrangement for operating the doors 94 and 131 is shown in FIGS.9 and 10 in which the irregular frame 321 is provided with a rotatableshaft 323 rotatably mounted in the irregular frame or bracket 321.

Fastened to the rear end of the shaft 323 is a disc 325.

containing four holes 327. It also has an arm 329 extending radially.This arm 329 is provided with a connecting pin 331 on a radius followingthe center-line of the arm'329. The Bowden wire 98 is pivotallyconnected by a loop to the pin 331 and the casing 121 is so located thatwhen the arm 329 is in the both doors closed position shown in FIG. 9 atan angle of about 45 to the left, it makes an obtuse angle of about withthe wire 98. The Bowden wire 133'is also preferably connected by a loopto the pin 331. This wire 1'33.and its casing are so located that theymake an obtuse angle of 120 with the radius passing through the pin 331in the op posite direction'from the Bowden wire 98. Also, when the arm329 is in this position, the wire -133 is located at an obtuse angle of120 from the wire 98.

Atension coil spring'333 extends from the pin 331 to ananchorage 335provided on the frame 321 exactly in alignment with the radius passingthrough the pin 3'31 but in the opposite direction "from the shaft 323.The

frame 321 has four apertures receiving four balls 337.

interruption 250 of the teeth. The supporting bracket 220 is providedwith balls 252 located in apertures beneath the pinion 248 surroundingthe pinionshaft 254;

The pinion 248 is held in place by a cage 256 fastenedin placeby thescrew 258. The pinion shaft 254 is adapted circumferentially arrangedwhich partially receive the balls 337. A spring washer 339 is locatedbetween the 'frame 321an'd a disc 341 fixed to the. shaft 323 so as topull the ar'mf325 with its apertures resilientlyinto contact with theballs 337 so that the balls and the apertures .will servea'sra resilientdetent to hold the arm 329 in four positions, l I

' By virtue of the angular arrangement between the wires 98 and 133 andthe arm 329, the turning of the shaft 323 in a clockwise direction willpull the wire 98 to the right until the arm 329 engages the stop 343when the fresh air door 94 will be fully open. The wire 133 will notmove materially since it is substantially perpendicular to the aredescribed by the pin 331. The counter-lockwise rotation of the shaft 323will push the wire 98 back to its original position when the arm 329reaches the 45 position shown in FIG. 9. Further counter-clockwiserotation of the shaft 323 and the arm 329 will pull the wire 133downwardly to open the exhaust air door 131 while the wire 98 will notbe moved a great deal within the conduit 121 since it will besubstantially perpendicular to the arc traversed by the pin 331 untilthe arm 329 reaches the stop 345. In this position, the fresh air door94 will be fully opened. The doors 94 and 131 may be provided withspring hinges biasing the doors to closed position. The over centertension coil spring 333 tends to balance the bias of the spring hingesof the doors 94 and 131.

On top of the cabinet there is provided an optional heating arrangementincluding a flat box-shaped enclosure 161 containing a cross-finnedheater 163 located directly over the opening '82. The casting 161 hasbottom and top openings 165 and 167 aligned with the opening 82. Theopening 167 is provided with a grille 169 which also fits the opening167 as well as the openings 82 and the opening in which the plate 84 islocated providing these alternate locations for discharging air. Thesupply and return conduits 171 and 173 for the heater 163 extenddownwardly through a vertical enclosure 175 alongside the cabinet.Heating can be obtained when the refrigerating system is removed byinstalling a duct from the discharge portion 58 of the blower 54 toopening 165.

If the heating arrangement is not desired, the enclosures 161 and 175together with their contents may be removed and the grille 169 eitherplaced in the opening 82 or in the front opening where the removableplate 84 is located. The plate 84 will fit in either the opening 82 orthe opening 167 providing alternate locations for closing these openingswhenever the grille 169 is moved to the front position. By thisarrangement, either a front or top discharge can be obtained. Theheating arrangement is readily applied. The refrigerating system abovethe support can be manufactured separately from the blower unit beneaththe support 36. The unit may be serviced by removing the grilles 30 and32 and then pulling out the entire inner unit. Servicing is made easiersince the dual blower unit is readily separable from the refrigeratingsystem since the blower housings readily disconnect from the condensershroud 72 and the partition 50 enclosing the evaporator 44.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In an air conditioning unit including doors and door openings, arotatable arm, a rotatable shaft carrying said arm, means for rotatablysupporting said shaft, means for limiting the rotation of said arm aboutthe axis of said shaft to provide two extreme positions and an intennediate position; said arm having an anchorage eccentrically located to saidshaft, a first wire connecting said anchorage and a first door, a secondwire connecting said anchorage and a second door, first conduit meansenclosing said first wire haivng an end portion located adjacent saidanchorage at an angle obtuse to a line extending between the center ofsaid shaft and said anchorage when said arm is in an intermediateposition, second conduit means enclosing said second wire having an endportion located adjacent said anchorage at an angle obtuse to said firstconduit means adjacent said anchorage and obtuse to a line extendingbetween the center of said shaft and said anchorage when said arm is insaid intermediate position,

an over center spring having one end connected to and extending fromsaid anchorage parallel to saidline between said anchorage and thecenter of the shaft when said arm is in 'said intermediate position, anda second anchorage for said spring mounted on the shaft supporting meansand located on the extension of said line beyond the center of theshaft, said spring having its other end connected to said secondanchorage.

2. In an air conditioning unit including a room air inlet and outlet andan outdoor air inlet and outlet, a fresh air opening and a fresh airdoor and an exhaust air opening and an exhaust air door, parallellongitudinally movable racks having oppositely facing rack teethoperatively connected individually to said fresh air door and saidexhaust air door, a knob on said cabinet, a pinion connected to saidknob located between said racks and having teeth engaging the oppositelyfacing rack teeth, the teeth of said pinion being continuouslyinterrupted throughout substantially half of its periphery to preventsimultaneous move ment of said racks, said teeth being only suflicientin number to open and close said doors.

3. In an air conditioning unit including a room air inlet and outlet andan outdoor air inlet and outlet, a fresh air opening and a fresh airdoor and an exhaust air open ing and an exhaust air door, parallellongitudinally movable racks having oppositely facing rack teethoperatively connected individually to said fresh air door and saidexhaust air door, a knob on said cabinet, a pinion connected to saidknob located between said racks and having teeth engaging the oppositelyfacing rack teeth, the teeth of said pinion being continuouslyinterrupted throughout substantially half of its periphery to preventsimultaneous movement of said racks, said teeth being only suflicient innumber to open and close said doors, said racks each having a detentarrangement at one end of their movement for holding each of said doorstightly closed.

4. In an air conditioning unit including a room air inlet and outlet andan outdoor air inlet and outlet, a fresh air opening and a fresh airdoor and an exhaust air opening and an exhaust air door, parallellongitudinally movable racks having oppositely facing rack teethoperatively connected individually to said fresh air door and saidexhaust air door, means for slidably mounting said racks forlongitudinal movement, a knob on said cabinet, a pinion connected tosaid knob located between said racks and having teeth engaging theoppositely facing rack teeth, the teeth of said pinion beingcontinuously interrupted throughout substantially half of its peripheryto prevent simultaneous movement of said racks, said teeth being onlysuficient in number to open and close said doors, and means associatedwith said interrupted teeth for moving the opposite rack into engagementwith the teeth of the pinion when the interrupted portion of said pinionengages the other rack.

5. In an air conditioning unit including a room air inlet and outlet andan outdoor air inlet and outlet, a fresh air opening and a fresh airdoor and an exhaust air opening and an exhaust air door, parallellongitudinally movable racks having oppositely facing rack teethoperatively connected individually to said fresh air door and saidexhaust air door, means for slidably mounting said racks forlongitudinal movement, a knob on said cabinet, a pinion connected tosaid knob located between said racks and having teeth engaging theoppositely facing rack teeth, the teeth of said pinion beingcontinuously interrupted throughout substantially half of its peripheryto prevent simultaneous movement of said racks, said teeth being onlysufiicient in number to open and close said doors, said continuouslyinterrupted section of said teeth having a radius substantially equal tothe radius of the tips of said teeth for acting as a cam when contactingthe rack teeth, and a yoke extending transversely across said racks andslidably receiving said racks for laterally moving one of the racks intoengagement of the teeth of the pinion othemmk.

References Cited 'in ;the file of Ibis patent V UNITED STATES PATENTSHedges Mar. 26, 1918 Stowell May 13, 1919 Neesonqm July 7, 1942Eberhart.......Q. ----..-TJu1y 20, 19,43

Eberhart Feb. 29,1944 Moore; "June 10, 1952. Wilfert 'J-an. 3, 1 956Little July 31, 1956 Roseman Feb. '12, 1957 Arnold July 23, 1957'Kuhlensohmidt Aug. 6, 1957

